Hi guys, after seeing Memory Lapse from 22 blows, I love these types of effects! Especially where the person forgets a thought!
Since this is a business card trick, I would love to tell you guys to use/buy fadeout and use it for mentalism.
My presentation goes as follows after they pick the card,

"Any reason you named this card?
Ok you named this card specifically b/c your mind deals with it well and you can remember it easily.
Don't mind these other cards. The backs are all the same so you don't have to memorize these.
Now I'm going to make you forget your card. Focus, Don't forget. Now what was your card?
Ok, Ok, I've been hypnotizing you the WHOLE time, you do you remember any of the other cards?
They're just drawing blanks right? As if they were never there, except for the card you specifically memorized. See the whole deck is just a blank in your brain.
But if we go back about 5 mins before the trick even started, you lose focus on your card and it just becomes another blank in your mind."

So do you think this would work well w/ Memory Lapse and in Restaurants?
I need an opening effect for the 3 or 4 part routine.
Any comments?

no, do NOT use playing cards for mentalism. you are describing a card trick or at the very best mental magic. i highly doubt anyone in a restaurant would buy a hypnotic suggestion in your patter. have you read 13 steps to mentalism? if not, do that. Sankey does not perform mentalism. 22 blows to the head is mental magic and will stil have you perceived as a magician. if you dont mind that then go ahead.

also, memory lapse effects must only be performed, IMO, in a strict mentalism/suggestion act. for memory lapse effects of the highest order look into the work of kenton knepper or luke jermay

Luke Jermay has a memory lapse effect in his book 7 deceptions. Its pretty cool. Ive been working on it for a while. Practicing is going to make you look really stupid, but the more you do it the better you become.

Sankeys trick in 22 blows to the head is not a real memory lapse. I think he has a real one in his book with Richard Sanders when creators collide though.

That's a cute presentation, but for it to be mentalism it needs to be believable. Wiping out a person's memory is believable; erasing a deck of cards is not.

On the other hand, I must disagree with David Whitehead's assertion that a mentalist can never use playing cards. Contrary to our own skewed view of the world, laypeople do not watch card tricks every day, and therefore do not view cards as items intended primarily for conjuring. When they handle playing cards, it's to play games like poker and the like -- and provided the effect shown is believable as mentalism, I say go for it. (Incidentally, mentalism professionals such as Banachek, Richardson, Becker, and Osterlind concur.)

Best of luck,
Neil